Chapter 303 Gone

Elara turned back to Alpha Zack. Her eyes had gone cool. “What is there to talk about?”

Alpha Zack ’s throat moved. He looked at her like he was memorizing her face. “Elara. We are not enemies.”

Elara kept her voice level. “You are right. We are not enemies.”

A pause. “But we are not friends either. We are just two wolves who used to know each other.”

The words hit like a claw to the chest. Alpha Zack ’s lashes dropped. When he looked up again, his smile was bitter.

“I did not come here to fight,” he said. “I heard about the pups. I wanted to say congratulations.”

Elara stared at him.

She felt nothing.

No ache. No pull. No twist in her chest. Just a mild sense of wondering why he was being so dramatic.

“Okay,” she said. Flat. Done. “Got it.”

Alpha Zack flinched.

The indifference cut deeper than anger would have. He could lie to himself all he wanted, but her eyes told the truth.

She felt nothing for him. Not even hatred. Just a clean, quiet nothing.

“I won’t bother you again,” Alpha Zack said quietly. “I’m flying to Europe tonight. Business expansion. This might be the last time we see each other.”

Elara said nothing.

He paused, like he was waiting for her to react. She didn’t.

“I just wanted to say,” he continued, “if he ever hurts you, you can call me. I don’t care where I am. I’ll come back.”

Elara’s mouth curved. Not a warm smile. A cold one.

“I don’t think my husband will give you that chance.” She adjusted the strap of her purse. “And I wouldn’t call you anyway.”

She turned. No goodbye. No backward glance.

—

Alpha Dominic sat in the back of the SUV, watching the ceremony entrance.

He was muttering to himself. “What’s taking so long? Three more seconds, Elara. Then I’m coming in there.”

He tapped his knee. Kept his eyes on the door.

Up front, the driver sat quietly. Baseball cap. Sunglasses. Cold eyes behind the lens. He glanced at Alpha Dominic in the rearview.

Alpha Dominic didn’t notice. He was too busy watching Elara through the window.

“Charlie,” Alpha Dominic said, still looking out the window. “Go tell my mate dinner’s waiting.”

Silence.

Alpha Dominic frowned. He looked at the driver. The shoulders were wrong. The build was wrong.

“You’re not Charlie.” His voice dropped. “Who the hell are you?”

The guy smiled. Didn’t say a word.

Alpha Dominic lunged.

He reached for his claws. For the shift. For the burn that usually came instantly. He was an Alpha King. His wolf answered before he even called it.

Not this time.

Nothing happened.

He tried again. Pushed harder. Called his wolf like his life depended on it.

Still nothing.

His stomach dropped.

He knew what this was. He had felt it once before, years ago, during a training exercise with wolfsbane. But that was a low dose. This was different. This was total shutdown.

The whiskey. The bar. One sip. One stupid sip.

The driver turned around. Canister in hand. Sprayed twice. Alpha Dominic turned his head and held his breath, but it didn’t matter.

The chemical was just insurance. The real damage was already inside him.

His vision blurred. His arms went dead.

The last thing he saw was the driver’s smile in the mirror. Then everything went dark.

The SUV pulled out of the lot. Clean. Fast. Gone.

—

Elara stepped out of the lobby and scanned the parking lot.

No Alpha Dominic. No SUV.

She pulled out her phone and called him. It rang somewhere close. She looked down. His suit jacket was still draped over her shoulders. His phone was in the pocket.

She hung up. Tried Charlie.

Straight to voicemail.

Something was off. Alpha Dominic would not just leave. Not without telling her.

She waited.

Ten minutes. Twenty. Thirty.

Nothing.

She walked over to the security guard by the entrance. “Hey. Did you see a black SUV leave? The one parked near the front?”

The guard nodded. “Yeah. About half an hour ago. Driver took off pretty fast. “

Elara’s stomach dropped.

She tried calling again. Alpha Dominic. Charlie. Nothing.

Maybe he went home. Maybe there was an emergency at the pack. But her gut said otherwise.

She hailed a taxi and climbed in. Her hands were shaking as she gave the driver the address to the Wolfe estate.

The whole ride back, she stared at her phone. Waiting for it to ring.

It never did.